


OUAT, episode 5: ''What's Left Behind''

by Omorocca



Series: Once Upon a Time [4]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-09-26
Updated: 2012-09-26
Packaged: 2017-11-15 02:06:25
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,379
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/521985
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Omorocca/pseuds/Omorocca
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written right before season two begins. I tried to be as respectful as possible to the original scenario, however some of my stuff was different (Belle's return to Rumple, Snow and Charming remembering already) so I had to combine the real story with my story.</p>
<p>I also saw some spoiler scenes but didn't write them into my fic. I just wrote that they happened, but skipped them because I wanted to focus on my story.</p>
<p>I hope you will enjoy this. Some questions will be answered in the next episode because I couldn't put all the answers right away, now, could I?</p>
<p>**Some text was written in italic to put some emphasis on it or because it was in the character's head, but the site won't show it to me... I hope it doesn't make it confusing...**</p>
<p>Again, please, comment. Give me your thoughts, good, bad, evil or impish, I take them all as long as they're respectful.</p>
            </blockquote>





	OUAT, episode 5: ''What's Left Behind''

Fanfiction  
Characters © OUAT writers and producers  
Mother Gothel and Rapunzel © Grimm  
Rebecca, Dominic and original characters are mine

 

Prologue

They had been living as a family for a few days now and Elizabeth was getting more and more comfortable to Mr Gold’s presence. Rebecca and Dominic had begun to leave the two alone sometimes and no crisis happened. But she would still keep a certain distance with him. Her dreams, she had told them, seemed so real that they made her still cautious around him.

Rebecca was bringing the groceries home for the supper while Dominic was keeping guard on the house’s balcony, reading a Braille edition of Faust. Gold was at his shop and Elizabeth had followed him this time, in the hope that maybe something there would refresh her memory of him, if any memory could return at all.

But this was a sombre day. Henry, the Sheriff’s son, was sick. Emma had rushed him to the hospital, unconscious and no one knew what he had. Mr Gold had been aware apparently and helped find a way to save him, but the rest of his ‘family’ knew nothing more. Rebecca thought of going to the hospital, to volunteer her help, but thought again. Regina would be there and since their last encounter, the young Miss Toren tried to stand clear of the mayor.

On her way home, something came right at her. Wind?... It felt more like a tidal wave that threw itself at her, submerged her and left her there, staring blankly, wondering what had happened. She took a few more steps and that’s when she saw him: on the balcony, his book on the floor and his hands trembling.

“Wilfried?”

She had said it. He looked at the direction of her voice and his face lightened. Quickly, his hands found the ramp and his feet the steps.

“Rapunzel?…”  
“Right here, love… ”

He found her with her voice, like before and he held her tight. With tears and laughter, she looked at him. He was still blind but that was a mere detail. They remembered who they were. They kissed, as if it were the first time of their lives.

“Rapunzel… what happened?”  
“I don’t know… I think it’s that curse Henry spoke of. I- I think it just broke.”  
“Are you sure everyone remembers?...” He startled. “What about our family? Do you think our son is somewhere here with my father?”

She was trembling, he could feel it. She was wondering about the same thing.

“I don’t know, Wilfried… I wouldn’t know where to look… maybe I can ask—”  
“Wait! There was a patient, another patient of Dr Whale’s with a tumour like mine… This illness must have been there for a reason, maybe…”  
“You think he’s your father?”  
“It’s a stretch, but if he is, we can find him with the hospital records and maybe find our son too.”

She smiled in hope.

“Then let’s go to the hospital…”

But as they were just about to go, something else happened. Rapunzel stopped and gasped in horror. Wilfried stopped as well, wandering what scared his wife so much.

“What, asked Wilfried, what do you see?”  
“It’s… some kind of smoke… I think it’s another curse… It’s happening all over again.”

She took her amulet in her hand but didn’t know how to make it work without magic. She kept trembling in fear. Wilfried immediately took her in his arms and made her look at him.

“Kiss me! Whatever magic this is, we have true love. If this thing is evil, we’ll fight it with the only magic we have. Kiss me, Rapunzel.”

He held her tight and they kissed once more, as the purple cloud of magic engulfed them. They kissed, as if it were the last time of their lives.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the woods, by the well, the cloud had begun to dissipate and Belle was still very confused. Why had he done this? Why did he need magic – or rather, power – that much? And what had happened all this time she was locked up? Where were they now?

Rumpelstiltskin looked at her, his eyes bore such conflict. He seemed apologetic for her confusion and yet pleased for the success of his spell. He walked towards her, but she backed off.

“Why did you do this?”  
“I’m sorry, Belle. It was necessary.”  
“What do you mean, ‘necessary’? What if it had cursed you again?”  
“But I am cursed, Belle. I always was, only the nature of my curse changed. Hopefully, I constantly could use some of it to my advantage.”

He took another step towards her and she drew away again.

“Belle…”  
“You knew who I was before I remembered. We never had a story here. My dreams, they were memories… distorted memories…”  
“Belle, please. You’re confused. I should take you home.”  
“Wh-… What is this place? Where are we?”  
“This is another world, Belle. A curse brought us here.”  
“Why?”

He hesitated. Should he tell her the truth? How would she react to learn that he had sacrificed their whole world to bring people here? And he would have to tell her why…And if he lied and she found out later? She would never trust him again.

“… because I designed it that way.”  
“You… you made this?” He nodded. “Why?”  
“I will explain everything, but please, let us go back home.”  
“I won’t go anywhere until you tell me the truth, Rumpelstiltskin. You said there would be a time for everything. Well, now is the time for truth.”

She was unnerved. All that she had gone through, the torture, the imprisonment, the curse, twenty-eight years in a padded cell and all that happened after, it was all coming back to her at the same time and it was too much to handle. Her breathing was quick and harsh and her eyes showed panic. In three steps, he had her in his arms.

“I’m so sorry, Belle… I truly am and I will tell you the whole truth, I promise. I will make it up to you. But now we really need to take you home, so you can be safe.”  
“From what? What did you do?”  
“All magic comes with a price, Belle. I have unleashed the most powerful magic of all and I will have to pay for it. I don’t want the price to be you.”

The confession was so touching that she was immediately calmer and more inclined to follow him. No one bares his soul like that solely for ill intentions. She gave him a little smile, reassured for now but still suspicious.

“You still owe me an explanation…”

He smiled back and with an arm around her, he proceeded to go back to town. Only then, she realised he was still using his cane.

“What happened to your leg?”  
“I was born like this… without magic, I limp again.”  
“Oh… but why didn’t magic cure it now, like before in our world when you were, well, the way I knew you...?”  
“It’s not the same magic. This one comes from true love and cannot be spoiled for little details, like a bad leg. It must be used wisely for something… bigger.”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Their lips parted and they stared at each other, both surprised to be there, alive and well.

“Did we beat this or—”

Rapunzel paused. She had just realised Wilfried was staring at her.

“Oh my God! Wilfried!”  
“You gave me my sight again.”

She smiled, but then she looked down at her amulet, seeing that it was shining. I was the first time she was seeing it shine in Storybrooke.

“This time it’s not me, Wilfried… I think magic came here.”  
“Why?”

She was trying to find out. Her eyes closed, she tried to interpret what she was feeling.

“He wanted it…”  
“He, you mean…”

They looked at each other again.

“Rumpelstiltskin,” she finally said.

 

On the main street of Storybrooke, the purple cloud had caused a huge mess. Holes had formed in the streets, causing accidents. Some cars were turned upside down; others had crashed onto walls and poles. People were hurt and running everywhere. It was chaos. One of these cars was in pretty bad shape and its occupant was trying with all his might to get out. Snow and Charming saw him and rushed to help.

“We’re going to get you out, don’t worry” Charming said to the poor man.

He took a broken piece of glass and used it to cut the seatbelt.

“Quickly, Snow shouted. The car is catching fire!”

And she ran to the other side of the car, while Charming pulled the man from it. It was hard and a few seconds later, Snow had gotten inside from the passenger seat; she pushed him as Charming pulled and they got the man out. It was about time. They just had long enough to run, before the car exploded.

On their side, Charming looked at the man.

“Are you okay?”  
“Yes… thank you.”

The man looked at Charming with strange eyes. Like he knew him, but Charming wouldn’t ask him why yet. He had to see about Snow first. He ran to the other side of the car, where Snow laid, and took her in his arms.

“Snow? Are you—”  
“I’m fine. I’m okay… How is Jefferson?”  
“Jeff—? You don’t mean…”

He turned just in time to see Jefferson running away from the scene. Seeing that Snow was all right, he ran after the man who had abducted her and Emma, their daughter. Jefferson ran fast, but he was no match for Charming who quickly caught up with him and tackled him to the ground.

“Wait!” he shouted, thinking Charming was going to hurt him. Instead, he helped him up and held him by the collar.  
“Why did you run away?”  
“Why do you think? I know what I did. I know it was wrong but I had to try something…”  
“You abducted my wife, held her hostage to make my daughter work for you, threatened my daughter with a gun… do I need to go on? Like hell it’s wrong!”  
“You don’t understand… I was trapped.”  
“We all were!”  
“No! No you weren’t… None of you remembered! I did. For twenty eight years, stuck in this hell, remembering who I used to be, seeing the only person I’ve truly loved live with other people and not even know who I was… and there was nothing I could do about it, until Emma came to town.”

Charming looked at the man’s eyes while he was talking. There was pain and insanity in these eyes, but something was wrong. Something else he recognized.

“The only person you truly loved… You don’t mean… your child?”

The man sighed and refused to answer. But Charming knew he had recognised what he had seen: a parent’s fear for their child. He loosened his hold.

“You tried to force Emma to make your hat work – whatever that means – so you could be with your child and escape this place?”  
“Yes… Look, I never would have hurt her, but she attacked me and… well, I think I got a little mad.”  
“A little mad?”  
“Wait!... look… I wanted to make her believe, but I didn’t know how… I told her my story, I told her about who she was, but she just wouldn’t listen! I kept her friend – I mean, her mother – hostage in case I would need to scare her into making it work… I know it was wrong; I just couldn’t stand it anymore. I needed to take my daughter away from this place.”  
“Where’s your daughter now?”  
“Probably still at school… I have to hurry! I did something to Regina and when she finds out… I just want my Grace to be safe.”  
“What did you do?...”  
“If you let me go to my Grace, I’ll explain on the way. Please.”  
“All right… I’ll go get Snow. We’ll give you a lift.”

Completely taken aback by this change, Jefferson took a long moment before muttering an embarrassed ‘thank you’.

“No problem… I’m curious to hear what you did to Regina.”

 

Inside the hospital, they were all looking at each other, trying to find an answer to what had just happened. Emma still kept Henry in her arms, incapable of letting him go. All this in one day was too much for anyone to handle.

“What the hell was that?”  
“Magic, answered the Mother Superior. Magic has come here… I can feel it.”  
“I’m sorry, what?... Magic? Are you sure?”  
“Yes… but this is strange. It must have come from our world. It had to be something powerful.”  
“How powerful?”  
“The most powerful of all magic…”  
“True love.”

The nun acquiesced and Emma stared at her, understanding what had happened.

“That son of a bitch!”

And with Henry, she ran out of the room, leaving the nun behind. Dr Whale, still in a haze went behind her.

“What will she do?”  
“Pay a visit to the one who unleashed this magic, probably.”

He was about to answer when the phones in the nurses’ station all rang at the same time. The doctor immediately snapped out of it and got ready to do what he had been doing for 28 years. Answers would have to wait.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Outside, they saw many car accidents and other horrible things, like holes in the concrete that no natural damage could have caused. What could possibly have come out of this? Rapunzel and Wilfried walked quickly to the pawn shop, hoping to find an answer. On their way, they saw fire trucks headed to the mayor’s office and many citizens in panic.

They accelerated their pace in the hope to get there in time. They had much to do and knew Rumpelstiltskin would probably have to do a lot as well, now that he had brought magic to town. But Rapunzel didn’t really care about the imp’s plans. All she wanted was to know where the rest of her family was. She knew about Gavin, her captain and dear friend, but what about her son and King Gabriel?

By the door of the pawnshop, they paused. Were they ready to confront Rumpelstiltskin, now that they knew magic was here? They stared at each other, building up the courage to simply open the door and get in. Wilfried put his arm around Rapunzel’s shoulders and they took a deep breath.

“We can do this.”

And he opened the door of the shop.

 

“Rumpelstiltskin!...”

No answer. The shop was empty… but he was there, they knew!

“Rumpelstiltskin!... Show yourself!”  
“What is it, dearie?”

Rapunzel jumped. Behind her, stood the man who had once been her husband. But that false memory was over; he didn’t have that kind of power over her anymore. He just stood there, still looking the same as he did that very morning, with his suit and cane.

“You don’t seem that surprised that we remember… or that I ran here right after magic came to town.”  
“I have been expecting you, Rapunzel… After all, you own the other half of your mother’s powers. You are bound to ‘see’ certain things.”  
“So, I was right. You brought magic here. While everyone was in a haze, trying to understand what happened… you were already planning something.” That’s when it hit her. “You remembered before we did. That’s how you managed to do what you’ve done, right after the curse broke…”

He nodded but kept silent, his eyes betraying how much he was enjoying this discovery. From the back store, the curtain rose to reveal the woman they had known only as Elizabeth French.

“How long have you remembered, Rumpelstiltskin?” Wilfried asked.

He wouldn’t answer. Rapunzel took her amulet in her trembling fist to give herself some courage.

“Answer him! For how long have you known who you were?”  
“Tell them the truth, Belle said. After all they did for you, for us, they have the right to demand some honesty.”

He sighed. Belle was right to side with the witch’s daughter and force him to speak the truth. He owed it to them and he hated to be indebted.

“… Since Emma came to town.”

They all gasped and stared at him… Rapunzel could hardly control herself. All this time, he knew?

“But… this was months ago!... You have been lying to us for months?”  
“Not precisely… I just couldn’t say anything until you remembered.”  
“That’s your excuse? After all that we’ve been through?” She was growing more and more angry at him and her true personality returned. “Wilfried and I have helped you find your true love. We risked our lives to keep Elizabeth safe. You and I talked about your personal losses. I called you family. Family! And you kept lying to us!”  
“You wouldn’t have believed!”  
“Wha— We saw true love save Wilfried’s life! I sang to guide him with my voice, because Henry told me I had once done it in a fairy tale! I found you after the fire because I felt where you were. None of this made sense and yet we accepted it; I put up with this insanity because, somehow, it worked! And you’re telling me you lied to me, to us, because we might not have believed?”

Behind her, Wilfried put his hands on his wife’s shoulders to try to calm her down. He agreed to every one of Rapunzel’s words but wouldn’t intervene. It was between her and the imp for two reasons: the fake life they had lived and the favour Rumpelstiltskin owed her.

“You were scared, Rumpelstiltskin! You thought I wouldn’t help you anymore if I knew what you had done. You thought I would refuse to help Elizabeth because you killed my mother, because you helped Blue Beard attack my family, because you threatened my son’s life? You needed my help, that’s why you lied to me. That’s the only reason and we both know it! And the silliest is, you know I would never have let anyone harm Elizabeth.”  
“Belle!”  
“Excuse me?”

It was her who had spoken. Belle was also regaining the confidence she once had before the curse.

“My name is Belle.”  
“I’m happy to meet you, Belle… in spite of it all.”

The two women smiled friendly at each other and it made Rapunzel calm down. She turned back to Rumpelstiltskin, with terrifying hate in her eyes.

“I came to you, because we’re looking for our son and for Wilfried’s father. I’m certain you know where they are and you will help us.”  
“Oh, is that right?...”  
“You owe it to us, remember? We made a deal sometime back. A deal you have never honoured. Now is the time to pay the price.”  
“To which deal are you referring?”  
“You will not walk away from this. You gave me your word! Help us find our son!”

He still wouldn’t budge. That’s when she hit low… lower than she had ever hit before.

“We would help you find yours, if we could.”

The response hit him like a tornado. He opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Rapunzel and Wilfried were now all out of patience.

“You don’t even respect your own word anymore… We were wrong to come here. We were wrong to ever trust you.”

They walked to leave, but Rapunzel still had something to say.

“And I thought you had changed so much… I will not make the same mistake again. I will never trust you again. I will never forgive you, Rumpelstiltskin.”

And they left. The little bell rang when the door opened, and again when it closed. Belle never took her eyes from Rumpelstiltskin and, when the door closed, she saw him briefly close his eyes and put his head down. A brief demonstration of pain or regret, before he shook it off and walked back to his office, his cane counting his slow pace with a little tick tock…

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The pickup was slowly rolling in the streets and inside it, Jefferson franticly looked through the windows for his daughter. All the people wandering in the streets, lost, but none of them were her.

It was Snow who noticed the little girl on the corner of the street. She pointed her out!

“Is that her?”

She was. Jefferson didn’t even wait for the pickup to stop to get out and run in the street.

“Grace!!!!”

The little girl stopped and barely had the time to turn before her father had her in his arms and lifted her up.

“Papa?”  
“Yes… yes, sweetheart, it’s me! Oh Grace, I missed you so much!”  
“Papa?...” She was still very hazy. “Where were you? You left to go see the Queen and you never returned.”  
“Oh, I know, sweetheart. I’m so sorry. I’m never going to leave you again!”

Behind him, Snow and Charming looked at the scene with emotion, thinking of their own daughter, Emma. She was probably still at the hospital with Henry… their grandson.

“Oh my God! Henry!!”  
“What? Charming asked. What happened?”  
“I… I was coming back from the hospital… Dr Whale threw me out of the room. He was getting worse.”  
“How worse?” But she couldn’t answer, too troubled by the realisation that they could lose Henry. Charming opened the pickup’s door. “Get in! We’ll go right away.”

It’s only then that she noticed his hands were trembling. The fear for Henry, he was feeling it too.

They drove towards the hospital, leaving Jefferson and his daughter behind. The man’s story of what he had done to Regina could wait.

 

On their way, they passed in front of Granny’s and they stopped the car again. Outside, their friends, Red and Granny were greeting other dear friends… seven dear friends.

Snow and Charming jumped out of the car and were greeted by them all. Now that they all remembered who they were and recognized who everyone was, they all hugged each other in tears.

“I’m so happy to see you again”, Red said to her friend she loved like a sister.  
“Oh, me too… now this curse is finally broken.”  
“Now, what do we do?”  
“We figure a way to get back home”, Charming answered, looking around while his wife was giving hugs to one dwarf at a time.

That’s when he saw it. The yellow bug. It was coming in the street and stopped right by his truck. Emma and Henry stepped out of it. Charming sighed: Henry was okay.

“Snow!”

She turned and saw them too, and gasped. Slowly, Emma got closer to them, her eyes in tears and they could see it in her face that the curse had been broken because she believed. Finally, they could tell her the truth they had waited so long for. They both looked at their daughter and then Snow slowly lifted her arms to take Emma’s face in her hands in the most motherly manner which troubled them both.

“Emma… My dear Emma!”  
“m-… Snow White?”

She could not say ‘Mom’. Not yet. It was all too much. Snow understood and nodded. A second later, she had her daughter in her arms, crying. Charming enveloped them both with his arms and Henry witnessed the scene with a happy smile until his grandfather dragged him into the hug.

“I… I don’t know what to say, Emma confessed. All of this is too much, I just can’t wrap my mind around it.”  
“It’s understandable, her father answered. It’s like two realities fighting, messing with your mind.”

He, of course, knew what he was talking about. More than anyone else in town. Those two conflicting realities had almost driven him insane and ruined his and Snow’s lives.

Emma broke the hug and looked at her parents. Her parents! They all looked the same age. They had lost twenty-eight years of her life and she had lost her whole childhood for they weren’t there with her through it. All that because of that curse… and Regina. Emma frowned.

“That bitch!”

Mr Gold and his plans could wait. This family had something in store for the former queen.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As they walked towards Regina’s house, they also met with other people, angry people who also knew she had something to do with it.

“What’s going on?” Emma asked.  
“I think we’re not the only ones seeking revenge”, her father answered.  
“They all know it was the queen’s curse that did this?” asked Henry.

Emma startled but didn’t answer. She knew it wasn’t completely Regina’s curse. Agreed, she was the one that cast it but Emma now knew someone else had made it. Someone she would have to pay a visit to soon after.

 

Back in the pawnshop, Rumpelstiltskin sat down, a bit unnerved. Belle slowly sat in front of him and looked gently at her love.

“Now that we’re safe, he said, tell me. Do you remember what happened to you before the curse?”  
“Vaguely… I remember I was in a cell. Regina would come sometimes just to stare at me and smile. My guess is she wanted to use me to hurt you.” She shook her head and changed the subject. “You said earlier you would explain why you brought magic here, and now you refused to help Rebecca and Dominic find their son even though you owed them?” She thought again. “What did she mean when she said she would help you find your son if she could?”

He sighed. She had so many questions but so did he. From the moment he had learned she was alive, he had kept asking himself how it could have happened. He had heard it from her father’s mouth: she was dead. And he had had no reason to doubt it until he saw her again and—

“Rumpelstiltskin?”  
“What?... Oh, I’m sorry… I was wondering where to begin.”  
“Why not start with your son?”  
“It’s a difficult subject, really… Losing him is the reason behind most of what I have done.”  
“Why did Rebecca say that?”  
“Rapunzel… After I killed her mother, I stole her powers; at least half of them. Gothel had given the other half to her daughter and with it, Rapunzel could sometimes understand some of the things I was feeling. One night, we had a conversation about her son and… she just knew.”  
“Is that why you promised to keep her son safe?” He nodded. “Then why aren’t you helping her?”  
“Because there’s something else I must do now. As we speak, people are probably already at Regina’s house. Later, they’ll come here, looking for blood. I need to make sure all I did won’t be for nothing.”  
“What was it all for?”

He didn’t answer, his hands nervously played with the handle of his cane. She covered them with hers and gave him the kindest blue stare.

“A promise that I made and I will not rest until I have honoured it.”

 

At the hospital, things were going worse and worse every hour. A lot of people had been hurt when magic came to town and some doctors and nurses had their own personal crisis to deal with. After having paid that visit to Regina with the angry mob, Dr Whale had resumed his medical function for it was necessary, but also essential to keep his mind off reality. People were hurt and he did know how to take care of them.

Rapunzel and Wilfried walked into this nightmare and immediately located the Doctor.

“Doctor Whale? I need to talk to you.”  
“Not now, miss Toren. There are patients everywhere, so unless you wish to help, it will have to wait.”  
“Doctor Whale, please. We need you to find our son!”

The man paused. Their son? He didn’t know they had a child. If that was the case and the child was lost they were in the worst kind of distress.

“Your son?”  
“We just remembered we had a family. Wilfried’s father, well…”  
“Our family is cursed, the prince continued. From father to son and I remembered you saying there was another patient with a tumour like mine. I thought it couldn’t be a coincidence and maybe it’s our family’s curse on a different form. If this man is my father, I need to find him. We think he’s with our son.”  
“You think?...”

Rapunzel was playing with her amulet.

“We are sure”, Wilfried concluded.  
“All right, I’ll go get the file… in the meantime, could you…?”

He looked around at this mayhem and Rapunzel acquiesced.

“We’ll do all we can!”

As Doctor Whale disappeared in his office, Rapunzel and Wilfried went immediately to a pair of children. The little boy was bleeding and the little girl, concerned for him, dared not let go of his hand. As parents, they were very concerned about them.

“What happened?” Rapunzel asked them.

The girl looked at her and answered with the saddest tone.

“We were running home to see our father and… there was an accident.” They both seemed terrified but also apologetic. “This car came out of nowhere and it would have hit me if Hansel hadn’t pushed me away.”  
“But I wasn’t quick enough to avoid it, answered Hansel in despair. And now we’re here instead of looking for father. I am so stupid.”  
“Stop it, Hansel, lectured her sister. You just save my life. You are not stupid. This is just an accident and once the doctors make you better, we’ll go look for father. He’ll be very proud of you, I’m sure.”

But the boy was still feeling guilty. He remembered now that he once put them in trouble, with the witch, because he couldn’t think properly. This could have killed them both and he still felt ashamed for everything that happened to them. Wilfried sat by his side and tried to comfort him.

“It’s all right, Hansel. You will find your father and your sister is right: he will be very proud of your heroism… I know I would. You know I lost my dad too.”  
“You did?”  
“Yes, he’s out there somewhere with our son, but Dr Whale can help us find them. I’m sure we can help you find your father as well.”

Rapunzel listened casually; concentrating on her amulet and Hansel’s wound. It took her a moment before the jewel shone. When it did, she put her hand on Hansel’s leg and slowly made the wound disappear to the boy’s astonishment.

“Are you a witch?”  
“No dear, she laughed. Well, not completely. But my mother was one and I inherited a few tricks.”

The children smiled happily as Dr Whale returned. He had seen the spell and took a quick glimpse at the leg before opening the file.

“I have his address and, according to the file, Mr Fisher lives alone with his grandson, Brian.”  
“Gabriel.”

Rapunzel kissed the Doctor’s cheek and was about to go when Wilfried stopped her.

“I should go there alone. We don’t know what magic did to them. Just in case.”  
“I’m not leaving you again, Wilfried.”  
“Don’t worry. I’ll grab Gavin on the way and we will go get our family back.”  
“I don’t want to force you, Miss Toren, but I could really use your… talents here”, replied the Doctor.  
“A- all right… but please, make it quick. I have a very bad feeling.”  
“I will, Wilfried answered. Children, come with me. I’ll drop you at your father’s house.”

Full of gratitude, Hansel and Gretel thanked Rapunzel before following Prince Wilfried outside. Rapunzel then followed the Doctor to another room.

“The driver of the car that hit the little boy is in very bad shape. I remember having seen him multiple times here and he always seemed very sick. I think the sickness must have worsened with magic, which is why he lost control of the wheel… I’m just guessing here because he won’t even let me examine him… he’s pretty aggressive.”  
“Well, maybe I can fix this. Do you know his name?”  
“He won’t talk to me.”

In the room, they met with the man in question and his anger… and horrible memories. Rapunzel shivered and Doctor Whale immediately asked her what was wrong.

“Blue Beard!” was her only answer.

The man greeted her with a grin, for he had recognized the woman who had defeated him. The wife of the Fisher King’s last heir.

“Gothel’s daughter!”

She backed up a step and took an apologetic look at the doctor.

“I’m sorry, Doctor. I can’t heal this man.”  
“Why?”  
“He tried to kill my family.”

And with that, she walked out of the room.

 

The mob had successfully taken control of Regina and Emma, with the help of her parents and Henry, had locked her up in the Sheriff’s cell. They were now headed for Mr Gold’s Pawnshop to confront its owner, not knowing he was at the station too, waiting for them to leave so he could have a little talk with the former queen. They walked together in silence, their friends behind them ready to assist in case Gold resisted. What could they tell each other in such a moment? What could they talk about without causing a tear avalanche? And Henry… they had to be strong for Henry, since they had sent his other mother to jail. Granted, he didn’t love her, but he could still have been affected by it.

Once at the shop, the family entered as their friends kept guard outside. They all stood to face an empty room. But it didn’t bother them; the pawnbroker was usually in his office in the back, waiting for them to look at something and appear dramatically behind them… but when the curtain rose to reveal the young woman, they all looked at her strangely.

“May I help you?”

She was still there after remembering?... What kind of link did she have with Gold before the curse? Were they really in love? Of course, they were, idiot, after all he did for her! He walked through fire and almost killed Regina for her. All those questions kept Emma’s mind fuzzy.

“Hey, Elizabeth, right?... I’m looking for Mr Gold—I mean.”  
“Rumpelstiltskin.”  
“Right… sorry. Is he here?”  
“He went to see you at the Sheriff’s office. He heard you had arrested Regina.”  
“… crap… we were just there!” A thought crossed her mind. “He’s not going to try to get her out, right?”  
“I doubt it… Do… do you want to wait here for him?”  
“If you don’t mind. We have a few things to talk about with him.”  
“I’m sure you do. Rapunzel just passed by. She was furious.”  
“Understandable.”

Emma looked at her parents for their reactions, but they were both staring with emotion at a glass mobile that had always been there in the shop. She looked back at Elizabeth as the young woman answered.

“They had a past before the curse… Rumpelstiltskin killed her mother and almost killed her husband. And in the curse, he kept her close to control her. He told me a little of what happened. I don’t think she will forgive him.”  
“Are you saying he remembered before today.”  
“He did… He always remembered some things, but it all came back to him when you came to town. He said they were some things it was safer to forget in case someone would use them against him…”  
“I’m wondering which ‘someone’.”

Snow and Charming looked away from the mobile and to their daughter.

“He wasn’t the only one, Charming confessed. We started to remember things too… Details that didn’t seem to make sense. They always came in dreams. For me, it was the hypnosis that made them appear. I thought I was going nuts until I spoke with Snow and she told me she was having similar visions. She’s the one who told me about Henry’s theories.”  
“How long have you…?”  
“Just a few weeks, Snow answered. We had no idea what to tell you or how to tell it.”

Belle had a little smile.

“You had to wait until she was ready to believe.”

They nodded and her smile became warmer. She had witnessed the same problem twice today. Only this time she knew there were no manipulative reasons behind this secret. Only love. Maybe she could talk with Rapunzel and try to smooth things out.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In her cell at the Sheriff’s station, Regina saw them all leave and then waited a few seconds. Then, she raised her hand towards the lock, trying to make it unlock. Nothing moved.

“Magic’s different here… dearie.”

She jumped. Mr Gold, or rather Rumpelstiltskin, had made one of his famous unpredictable entrances. She stared him down.

“You came here to gloat?”  
“Oh, that is more your style than mine, really. Of course, at the frequency I’m winning, if I had to gloat every time, I would be so tired.”  
“You bastard!”  
“Actually, I was born out of wedlock, thank you very much.”

He stared at her with this victorious smirk on his face. His enjoyment was palpable and made her sick.

“What do you want?” she finally asked.  
“I’m not sure I understand.”  
“Everything has a price with you. What’s your price for getting me out of here?”  
“Oh!... I don’t intend to let you out. Now that you get to pay for some of your crimes, I will not stand between you and justice. You’ll find your own way out, I am sure, and you will think for a while you can win again. You might even get some small victories, but in the end, it will all fall back on you.”  
“Don’t you dare lecture me! You are the one who made this curse. You have played with people’s lives, even more than I did. You manipulated everything from the beginning and everyone will know. I will not go down alone!”  
“I didn’t expect you to.”  
“As we speak, they’re headed to your place. It’s only a matter of time before you occupy the other cell. We can help each other.”

He snickered. Not an impish giggle like those he used to have back in their world, but a more subtle, more serious, more menacing laugh.

“Well, then I better not make them wait.”

He turned to leave, but her question made him stop.

“Why did you bring magic back if you can’t use it?” He didn’t answer. She smiled, knowing the truth now. “You are as vulnerable as I am, aren’t you?”  
“Not quite. This magic was generated from true love, Regina, which makes it incompatible with our respective powers… However, as you know, I happen to have a great source of true love from which I can get my powers back. Though, I understand how comforting it must be for you to think me powerless, Your Majesty.”

And on this note, he left her with a puzzled look on her face. By this quick visit, he had raised so many questions in her mind… questions but also an answer. He had to learn to use his powers again, and he would learn quickly too, with the help of his ‘true love source’. She had to learn how to master her own before it was too late. And in spite of his own will, he might have taught her how to proceed.

 

Wilfried and Gavin were riding silent in Gavin’s car with the children in the back. In the prince’s hand was the file with the address of his father’s house. Once they reached their destination, he saw the old decrepit little house, unfit for a king. Gavin sighed; his own home was better than this place. But Wilfried didn’t mind, as long as his family was there.

He walked out of the car and climbed the stairs to the front door and knocked. No answer. He knocked again. Nothing.

“Maybe his Majesty went out looking for you, Highness” Gavin said.  
“How would he know where to look?”  
“He must have heard about the fire at Lady Rapunzel’s house. The whole town talked about it for a week. A lot of people know you went to live at Mr Gold’s house…”  
“Gavin… you are a genius!”

He jumped back in the car, knowing that’s where his father would be. A few minutes later, the car stopped in front of the old Victorian house, where awaited King Gabriel and a baby boy in a stroller.

“Father!”  
“Wil-… Wilfried!... my dear boy!”

They jumped in each other’s arms and Wilfried allowed himself to cry when he saw that the baby in the stroller was indeed his son. In the car, Hansel and Gretel cried too at the beautiful scene, hoping to be reunited with their father soon.

“Where’s Rapunzel, son?” the King asked once they had regained their senses.  
“She’s at the hospital. I wanted to make sure you were all right first.” He took his son from the stroller and held him in his arms, kissing his forehead. “We’ll go find her, but first, we need to find these children’s father.”

 

Back at the pawnshop, Belle had let them into the office and they were all talking slowly when the back door opened and ‘Mr Gold’ entered, not in the least surprised to see this rather charming family. For their part, they were surprised the man had managed to get in without their friends warning them.

“Rumpelstiltskin” muttered Belle, rushing to him.  
“Hello love… and a good morning to you too!”

Snow and Charming, more used to the man’s wit, simply frowned, but Emma quickly told Henry to wait for her outside.

“But…”  
“No negotiations, kid. You wait outside. I don’t want you to see this.”

He knew she meant violence. He stepped out through the shop and they heard the doorbell ring twice. This whole time, Emma and Rumpelstiltskin stared at each other, her with violent thoughts, him with a little smile.

“I didn’t want my son to witness this.”  
“Quite understand—”

But she punched him in the face with a right hook right before he could end his sentence.

“That’s for putting my son’s life in danger. Creep!”  
“I never did such a thing.”  
“Don’t you dare lie to me.” She grabbed him violently by the coat. “Why did you do it? Why did you take the potion away from me? You could have killed Henry. You could have killed my son!”  
“The potion was never intended for Henry.”

She twitched for a fraction of a second, before asking: “What?”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Charming asked right after she did.  
“He was never in danger of death in the first place. The coma was just how long it took for the sleeping curse to take effect. It began to work once everyone thought he was dead.”  
“I could still have used the potion for him.”  
“What’s the point, when true love’s kiss is just as effective? As the daughter of Snow White and ‘Charming’, you were bound to figure it out. When I said Henry would be safe, I wasn’t lying.”  
“What did you use this potion for?” Snow asked, taking one step forward. “We know Regina is still powerless and you don’t seem to have changed much either. What’s the point?”  
“What’s the point of it all, dearie?” he teased back.  
“Don’t you dare talk to her like that!” Emma shouted to protect her friend and newfound mother.

The man scoffed and released himself from Emma’s grasp.

“How lovely. But don’t you worry, Emma. Your mother is quite capable of protecting herself from the Dark One.”  
“Get to the point, Gold!”

Rumpelstiltskin smiled at the use of the name Gold. Emma was still referring to his Storybrooke identity, even after knowing the true one. Probably the last morsel of denial.

“Rumpelstiltskin… please” asked the soft yet firm voice of Belle behind him. “Tell her the truth.”

He stared at Belle for a long moment before nodding his head.

“You are right… I’m sorry.” He then turned back to Snow to answer her question. “Quite simply, the curse destroyed our world and brought us here. There’s no world to go back to, unless we repair it… with magic.”  
“With magic”, she answered at the same time he did. He nodded again. “Then why create this curse if it’s to go right back?”  
“Not right back. At least, not yet. To come to this world, I had to sacrifice ours. The goal was to come here. There is something here that I need.”  
“What?... revenge?”  
“No, that is Regina’s thing. This petty necessity is not for me.”  
“Then what do you need so much that you would destroy a whole world for?” Emma asked.  
“Something I once asked from you but knew you wouldn’t give me. One of the hardest things to be given… forgiveness.”  
“From who?... Elizabeth?”  
“Well not initially. But I will have to ask her too.” He put his arm around his love. “Oh, and her name is Belle.”

Emma startled.

“Belle?” they both nodded. “As in ‘Beauty and the Beast’?”

Belle looked at Rumpelstiltskin strangely, but the man nodded again.

“So I guess that would make you the Beast…” Emma concluded.  
“I’ve been called worse”, he answered with a smile.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back at the hospital, Rapunzel was using her magic on an old woman when Wilfried came in, with his father and their son.

“Oh, my god!”

Without thinking, she ran to them and held her son in her arms, covering him with kisses. Then, little Gabriel still in her arms, she hugged the king and her dear old friend and captain, Gavin.

“What is going on here?” the king asked.  
“Magic did a lot of things to this town. A lot of people were in their cars, driving to their loved ones, when the cloud came in, like this woman I was helping.”  
“With magic?” He seemed a bit disappointed.  
“Father, we already had this discussion. I’m not giving it up. This is all I have left from my mother.”  
“I know, Rapunzel… I know! I’m just so happy to see you both again so I’m worried about you.” He put his arm around his son’s shoulder, saying so.

Rapunzel quickly released her spell on the lady to make her better and then left her to rest, all this with her son still in her arms. Having her family with her seemed to make her mother’s magic easier to use. She wondered if the situation was the same for the one holding the other half of the amulet. At the same moment, Wilfried wondered what they could do to help. He and Gavin went to the next room to see if they could be useful there, but left immediately. Rapunzel saw that.

“You saw him.”  
“What the hell is he doing here?” the prince asked.  
“Well, Lady Rapunzel stopped him from using your father’s grail to cure him, Gavin answered. My guess is he was still sick until the curse happened and now he’s sick again.”  
“To hell with this man”, roared the king, understanding who they were talking about. “He will not harm this family ever again. It is simply justice for him to be stuck here after all that he did.”

That comment gave Rapunzel an idea. The kind of twisted idea someone else they knew would usually have. She gave the baby back to his father and walked into the room with a peaceful smile on her face.

“You again?” Blue Beard smiled. “What do you want now?”  
“Be quiet!”

She approached the bed and grabbed her amulet, concentrating on the man’s wounds.

 

In his shop, Rumpelstiltskin felt something in his pocket; he took out the amulet with a puzzled look.

“She wouldn’t.”  
“What?” Emma asked, concerned to see him with a magical object. Was Regina up to something?  
“Rapunzel?” Belle asked.  
“She is going to cure an incurable wound”, he answered, his eyes closed and with a smirk. He reopened his eyes. “Why don’t I give her some help?”

And he held Belle in his arms, kissing her forehead and using all the love he felt for her to make the amulet shine. Emma and her parents stood there silent, watching the lovely yet bizarre scene.

 

Rapunzel felt the boost of energy and began to cure her enemy’s wounds. Blue Beard struggled on his bed.

“You get the hell off me, little witch.”  
“Shut up!” she answered in a voice not completely hers. Everyone in the room startled to hear a voice they recognised. The voice of the twisted imp.

A few seconds later, she was finished and Blue Beard was now in perfect health.

“Why did you do it?” he asked.  
“To punish you, of course”, she answered in a normal voice and when he didn’t understand, she explained. “You threatened to kill my whole family to cure yourself. Now, I could have let you be miserable as punishment, but considering I feel motherly today, I cured all your pain. You now owe me your life, Blue Beard. You owe me to leave this family alone and never let danger come to us ever again. What I gave can always be taken back.”

And with these words, she walked out of the room, with her family and closed the door to leave the madman alone with this new reality. Blue Beard frowned; he now owed his life to his worst enemy.

 

Rumpelstiltskin opened his eyes again and put the amulet back in his pocket. Using love to make it work had been a success. Through love, he would indeed regain his power, slowly but surely. He smiled.

“What was that?” Snow asked.  
“I just used my love to create magic and help an old friend.”

At this moment, Red and Granny burst in from the back door!

“Is Henry back here?” Red asked.  
“No, Emma answered. I asked him to wait outside.”  
“That’s where he was until a minute ago. We looked everywhere around for him, I don’t—”

Emma ran through the shop and outside.

“Henry?”

Everyone was hectic, looking around for the little boy. Emma went to the ice cream shop next door, but the place was closed.

“Henry???”

 

Back at the Sheriff’s station, the barred door slowly closed back on the empty cell.


End file.
